As freezing cold temperatures move in, everyone needs to remember to make sure their homes are safe from a potential fire. Presque Isle Fire Prevention Officer, Grant Spinney told us that when it gets brutally cold, people tend to use different heat sources to heat their homes which tend to pose a problem.

“We tend to have issues where people will put heat sources too close to combustibles, or combustibles accidentally knocked down onto these heat sources,” said Spinney.

Spinney went on to say that people should make sure the heat sources they are using are safe. If you are using an alternative heat source, especially electric, make sure to not overload outlet plugs and use surge protectors. Frozen pipes are another issue many home and business owners run into. Spinney told us some take matters into their own hands and try heating these pipes back up on their own.

“Sometimes its an hour after they’ve heated that pipe up that the house catches on fire, so it’s very important to be very careful when you’re thawing those pipes out,” added Spinney.

Just in case your home does go up in flames, Spinney wanted to remind everyone to make sure that you have an escape route, this includes a clear pathway out.

“We’ve gotten over 50 inches of snow and people are forgetting about their escape routes out of their houses, so it’s making sure that you’ve got all of your exit doors cleaned out from snow so that you can escape from any door in the house if you had to,” said Spinney.

There is sure to be more cold weather ahead this winter, so stay warm but make sure you do it safely.